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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0295.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Engine makers set for7E7 battle Boeing ready to brief GE, P&W and R-R on requirements, which include 10% lower operating costs than 767-300ER Battle lines will be drawn between the "big three" engine makers over the proposed Boeing 7E7 on 18 February when the aircraft manu facturer is expected to give General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls- Royce the initial set of propulsion system requirements. Boeing, which declines to con firm the planned briefing, will pro vide targets for take-off, climb and cruise thrust performance, as well as for fuel consumption, emissions, environmental noise and installed weight. The briefing will detail the schedule, culminating with entry- into-service in 2008. Targets include 17% better fuel consumption/seat The US Department of Defense (DoD) is further increasing expen diture in its 2004 budget on unmanned air vehicles (UAV) across the three services in a move to avoid having to fund one-for- one replacements of a large num ber of legacy manned platforms. Total spending on UAV procure ment and research and develop ment is set to reach over $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2004. This will include additional Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk and General Atomics Q-l Predator intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and 10% lower operating costs than those of the 767-300ER, and a gross weight lighter than the Airbus A330. As much as 80% of perfor mance improvements are expected to come from the engines. GE is widely expected to seek exclusivity, while P&W and R-R see Boeing eventually downselecting to two suppliers. The likely 60,000- 65,0001b-thrust (267-290kN) range also provides them with a chance to revamp radically their engine families with next-generation suc cessors to the CF6, PW4000 and a follow-on to the Trent, respectively. Like P&W and R-R, GE is re directing its earlier engine studies UAVs, as well as money to continue development of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) for the US Air Force and Navy and kick start the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme. All three of the USAF and USN's principal manned strike fighter pro grammes, the Lockheed Martin F/A-22, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Boeing F/A-18E/F, suffer cuts in planned procurement numbers in the FY2004 budget. The services will have to rely more on UCAVs as Lockheed Martin F-16s, F/A-18C/Ds and Fairchild A-lOs are retired. for the now abandoned Sonic Cruiser at the 7E7. Based on its Gen X study, it says the 7E7 pro posal will be "a scaled core of the GE90" and will feature other advanced technology already under development. P&W is expected to bring its hard-earned PW6000 compressor experience to the 7E7 project, although it indicates that the cur rent entry-into-service date may be too soon to introduce its long- anticipated geared-fan concept on a large-scale engine. "We do believe Boeing is going to do the programme and we are going to be there," says P&W commercial DoD spending on UCAV demon stration efforts will total $275 mil lion next year and include a small amount of seed money to create a joint programme office to oversee USAF and USN efforts now man aged by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The USN has also secured money for its stalled UCAV-N programme and to fly the Boeing X-46 and Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrators. Another $101 million will be used to launch the BAMS with the aim of fielding by 2009 a long- range UAV capable of performing engine president Bob Leduc. "It's that simple and come hell or high water we're going to win." R-R is focusing its 7E7 efforts on matching lowest cash operating cost targets with a raft of technology already planned for the European Affordable Near Term Low Emissions research programme. The company's chief design engineer Geoff Kirk says the outline architec ture for the new three-shaft design should be completed by mid-2003. "We've been working on Vision 10 engines for various sorts of applications, including the Sonic Cruiser. Now we've moved the focus to the 7E7," he says. some of the Lockheed Martin P-3C/EP-3 patrol and intelligence gathering missions. The navy hopes to fund the first two systems in 2007, while the planned manned P-3 replacement, the Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft, will not be ready for a further five years. The US Army, similarly having had its planned purchase of Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanches halved to 650 mac hines, is being told to make better use of UAVs such as the planned Unmanned Combat Air Rotorcraft. SEE DEFENCE PIS GENERAL AVIATION PAUL PHELAN / CAIRNS Gippsland scores US sales hit with GA-8 utility aircraft Australian manufacturer Gippsland Aeronautics (GA) has sold 16 of its eight- seat GA-8 Airvan single-engined utility aircraft in the USA. The sale follows GAs acceptance as an approved supplier to the US Air Force's Civil Air Patrol (CAP), which operates over 500 light aircraft on search and rescue and surveillance operations throughout the USA. GA has a three- year contract to supply aircraft to its US distributor Airvan on an "as required" basis. GA chief executive Michael Hall says the contract follows a CAP invita tion to tender followed by a three-day fly-off by US test pilots between the Airvan and Cessna's 206 stationair at the 7,800ft (2,400m) airfield at Buena Vista in the Rocky Mountains, and at Leadville (9,800ft) near Aspen, Colorado. Following the contract award, the aircraft has also been demonstrated to a number of other US government agencies. Gippsland is aiming for more Airvan sales to US government agencies DEFENCE PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC US DoD boosts UAV funding in 2004 budget 4 11-17 FEBRUARY 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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